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Last night my partner brought me flowers and tools: diagonal pliers to replace the ones he broke, and joint pliers because mine do not work very well. Another woman might have offered an evil eye for a gift of tools, but for me it was perfect.

Embrace who you are.

I learned a long time ago that I don’t fit in the usual boxes. To some people, like my sister, my having nine careers in thirty-four years seems flighty and unfocused. Others see my ability and willingness to shift lanes as adventurous. For me, it has just been the natural progression of my life.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller

So often we become stuck in society’s boxes of what is acceptable or what is required of us to move forward. Almost every writer experiences these judgments at some point. When leaving a well paying corporate job to work from home. The stigma of following a creative passion versus a good business position. The credentials needed to fulfill a dream.

A friend once told me, “If God gave you the inspiration you are already qualified.”

The world is in a topsy-turvy state. We are in a flux where no one decision is the “right” one. Work for yourself or someone else? Stay in the business world or pursue creative drive? Print publications or eBook? What kind of platform works best and is FaceBook really necessary? With the economy constantly shifting, the benefits of long-term employment no longer secured and conventional marketing loosing ground society has no choice but to roll with the shifting sand.

Don’t be stressed, be happy!

This chaotic state offers us the gift of choosing our own way, the space to create new paradigms. It is as if a big, dry-erase pad is sweeping through all the old, tired models and leaving us with a big, blank board. The only question is…

So far this week I’ve covered why people might want to self publish (and when they shouldn’t), and I’ve offered a step-by-step guide to the process. One big question remains—how can you turn a self-published book into a success story?

Since I just released my books, I can’t claim success yet. If you want to follow along with my story, I’ll be reporting updates on my personal blog on Wednesdays.

In the meantime, I can tell you my plan. First though, some comments from experts:

On the Behler Blog, Lynn Price acknowledges changes to the industry, but offers a warning to self-publishers: “The big advance money is drying up and the big guys aren’t buying the kinds of books they did years ago.… [However] It’s one thing to heed the call to the battle cry and chant ‘death to publishers!’ and quite another to actually go out and do it. And be successful.”

Self-pub superstar Amanda Hocking adds her own warning: “Traditional publishing and indie publishing aren’t all that different, and I don’t think people realize that. Some books and authors are best sellers, but most aren’t. It may be easier to self-publish than it is to traditionally publish, but in all honesty, it’s harder to be a best seller self-publishing than it is with a house.”

On the other side, Joe Konrath writes adult mysteries. He started in traditional publishing but has become totally gung ho about self-publishing. He sees no reason why anyone would want a traditional publishing contract today. On the other hand, he fully admits that success takes a big dose of luck. He often features guest authors sharing their success stories. These are primarily adult genre authors, but it’s still interesting to see what people do—and often how little difference a big publicity plan makes.

Along with luck, Joe says you need a well-written book, a great cover, a strong blurb describing it, and a good price point. He considers the e-book ideal $2.99, the lowest price at which you can get Amazon’s 70 percent royalty rate (it drops to 30 percent for cheaper books). You can judge my covers for yourself and check out the description and sample chapters of the writing at my Amazon page. Now let’s run some numbers to figure out that price point.

I can price my work as a $2.99 e-book and make $2 per book with Kindle’s 70 percent royalty rate. My traditionally published books are available on the Kindle, but at $5.99 for each of the Haunted series (the paperback price) and $8.80 for The Well of Sacrifice (hardcover price $16). I don’t get many sales that way, but many people complain that e-books are overpriced. (For an explanation of why, check out this post by former agent Nathan Bransford.) With The Eyes of Pharaoh and Rattled, people may be more likely to try the lower-priced books.

POD copies will be priced higher, because of printing costs. I can price Rattled at $7.99 which earns me $.92 for

2 Comments on Earning Money from Self-Publishing, last added: 3/18/2011

Look for an "American Idol" (greatest hits album to drop on March 15, featuring popular singles from stars that got their start on the show — Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, and more…though unfortunately missing is Jennifer... Read the rest of this post

STATUS: I think my telephone’s handset is permanently glued to my left ear. Way too much phone time over the last few days.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THE LOVECATS by The Cure

Wrapping up the fun facts tonight!

Mari Mancusi—It took me over two years to convince her publisher to buy the fourth book in the Blood Coven Vampire series. Then they did, repackaged the back list with new covers and now the series is doing great and we are up to having recently sold book eight!

Lisa Shearin—who has well over 100,000 copies in print for her Raine Benares series had a ton of passes while on submission for MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND because the editors didn’t like the “fun voice.” It wasn’t the “norm” in fantasy.

Shanna Swendson—Gets regular royalty checks for her Enchanted Inc. series even though the first book published more than 5 years ago. Talk about evergreen!

And I have a ton of other facts that will probably never see the light of day but this has been fun to recap.

Kristin,Kind of off subject, but I just wanted to say thank you. I've been following your blog, taking your advice and I was just signed by an agency in New York! I thought maybe you would enjoy reading what it feels like for the other side here.http://ranunculusadventure.blogspot.com/ Thank you so much for all your advice, humor and encouragement. It really did make a difference.

I've really enjoyed these fun facts. As an aspiring writer, I know there's no "magic" formula to getting published, but I still get a vicarious thrill whenever I hear about how authors signed on with their agent.

And in your case, Agent Kristin, these stories were particularly fascinating!

Fun series! Also this blog is like college, like a degree in publishing. If you want to be an experter in this area, you just have to read it every single day!I was rejected twice by your agency kristin, but I cannot thank you enough for this blog and the free advices. I found a publisher in Portugal. Wish me luck! Tânia

STATUS: Today was a whirlwind of good news and I actually knocked 2 things off my To Do List. I’m flying high tonight.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? THE WEDGE by Dick Dale

Courtney Milan—next to Chutney, Courtney has the cutest dog on the planet! Seriously, most of you know that Courtney came my way via a recommend from Sherry Thomas but then I met her in person and the Chicago Romance Writers Conference. I was impressed on many fronts.

Paula Reed—is the only client where I found her! I read an article about teachers and Columbine High School in the Denver Post and she was profiled. In the article, she mentioned she was writing a romance so I reached out to her. Now she writes literary historical fiction.

Sarah Rees Brennan—I was the only agent she queried for The Demon’s Lexicon series. Every day I’m thrilled and amazed that it was so!

Kim Reid—I met Kim at the Pikes Peak Writers conference and I think I physically groaned when she said she had a memoir to pitch (she won’t let me live that down!). Her memoir NO PLACE SAFE is one good reason why I’m proud to be a literary agent.

I got him as a puppy the day that Kristin held the auction for my first book. When she called me to give me the update, he had never heard my cell phone ring before, and he was so shocked that he peed all over the bed.

I was a little distracted for that call, but I wasn't about to beg off!

So glad to hear these successes of yours; they're very exciting! You represent Jamie Ford, whose book I love, so from that (and from much more that I've learned about you over the years, especially via this blog) I have proof that you are a very good literary agent and deserving of success. CONGRATULATIONS!

These are so cool to read. Now I think my browser is doing something weird, because I see 2 Take 3's, one for the 20th of Jan, and one for today. The one for the 20th starts off with Courtney Milan. I'm sure whatever it is though, is just me.

STATUS: Hey, winter decided to show up, briefly, in Denver today. It snowed. I already miss out near 60 degree weather already.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? GIVE PEACE A CHANCE by John Lennon

The Gals of Killer Fiction (all former Dorchester authors) are giving away free eBooks because finally, it’s their books to give away. (For the history, click on this link.) Two of my authors, Jana DeLeon and Leslie Thompson are participating. Nothing wrong with the word “free” in this case so you might want to check it out.

And that leads me to back to some more fun facts to share.

Lucienne Diver—was already publishing under a pseudonym when I convinced her to do the Vamped Series in her own name.

Carolyn Jewel—has never missed a deadline (which has me convinced that she has mastered the art of cloning)

Leslie Langtry—was skeptical of literary agents and gave me the most detailed questions I’ve ever received when offering representation. And if you know Leslie, who is probably the author most likely to buy you a beer and hug you, you’d realize just how strange that is!

Marie Lu—was an attendee I met at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. She submitted sample pages to her first novel which I passed on (sensing a theme here!). Then I took her on for a novel that I wasn’t able to sell. Now her debut YA, LEGEND, is one of Penguin’s big books for this fall. Talk about paying some dues.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? CALLING ALL ANGELS by Train

Once an author is established, it’s kind of hard to think of them as having a beginning but every successful author has a fun fact about their beginning. I thought it might be fun to share today.

Gail Carriger—Four years before she sent me SOULLESS, I had read a YA novel from her, passed on the manuscript but sent along a letter with feedback. She remembered that fondly and so queried me with SOULLESS.

Ally Carter—I signed Ally for a novel (adult) that we’ve never shopped.

Sara Creasy—(who by the way was just nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award—HUGE!!!) I made her revise SONG OF SCARABAEUS twice before I signed her and then went on to sell it.

Jana DeLeon—For her first book, RUMBLE ON THE BAYOU, had an editor who so wanted to buy her. Got shot down at her house. It sold elsewhere but just recently, this editor asked for every book she’s written since so she would have them on her vaca. Oh yes, we obliged@

Simone Elkeles—had only one offer to buy PERFECT CHEMISTRY. I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to sell it!

Jamie Ford—When he first submitted HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, he had the manuscript entitled THE PANAMA HOTEL. Sounds like it’s set in Latin American. We went through about 100 titles before settling on the one it was published with before submitting it to editors. Now people can’t imagine any other title for it. One bad suggestion was Burning Silk—after the one scene where Japanese women start burning their wedding Kimonos after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Janice Hardy—Sold me on her manuscript during the 10-minute pitch session at the Surrey Writers Conference. Right after the pitch appt. I called my assistant (Sara at the time) and asked her to send it to me the minute it came in. She did. I read it and immediately offered rep for it. It’s rare to take on a novel from a pitch session but it happens.

Fun and unique histories--just like the authors! I notice there aren't any stories of someone who re-queried a massively over-hauled manuscript years after a pass. Now I'm wondering if I dare attempt to give you a new data point!

Interesting to read how things evolve. I can't imagine Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet anything else. And in this case, though I'm not always like this with all books, it was the cover and the title that caught my attention and made me want to read it.

Jen Zeman said, on 1/20/2011 9:24:00 AM

This is so encouraging!! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said, on 1/21/2011 4:27:00 PM

"the one scene where Japanese women start burning their wedding Kimonos after the bombing of Pearl Harbor"

I've been seeing this book around, but this is the line that I think has convinced me to pick it up.

I’m curious about the opinion you and Kim have about the rise in e-books and the rights therein. Is this an issue authors should pay closer attention to, or is it strictly agent territory—or perhaps, is it the responsibility of both parties?

There is nothing in this business that is “strictly agent territory.” As the author and owner of your business (your author brand), it is imperative that you learn about the business and keep yourself apprised of what is going on. When I look at those authors who have truly achieved success, there is one thing all of them have in common, and that’s knowledge of publishing as a business. That doesn’t mean they necessarily understand every clause in a contract (a smart author also surrounds herself with smart people), but she does make an effort to understand the contract as a whole, the rights she’s licensing to others, and what the options are for her career. She works as a team with those smart people she’s hired, which means she has conversations with her agent about the contract and the rights that are being licensed, she discusses design and style with her website designer, and she works hand in hand with her publicist to come up with the next brilliant publicity idea.

So the answer is a resounding: It’s the responsibility of both parties to understand and seek knowledge about not just digital rights, but all rights as they pertain to the book.

I'm seeing more of a new model now where a small/medium press will offer new writers an ebook only contract with a 50/50 royalties split, and if it does well enough, a print contract (with advance) is offered.

1) would agents typically be interested in representing authors with this type of contract, or only if there is an up front advance being offered?

and

2) I guess if you can 'sell' the ebook to 1 publisher and the print to a different one, then that's okay, right? As long as the contract doesn't somehow tie up the print rights until performance con be established (can they contractually do that?)

Yesterday I shared some of my thoughts on unpublished authors self-epublishing as a way to launch their careers. Hopefully I was able to present a fair and balanced portrait of my thoughts on the subject. Today I want to continue that discussion by looking at what self-epublishing can do for published authors.

Just as unpublished authors see Kindle and other self-epublishing opportunities as a way to launch a career, published authors see self-epublishing as an opportunity to keep books that might have gone out of print in print or publish books that haven’t yet been published.

There’s no doubt this can be a wonderful opportunity for many, and we’ve seen some of those success stories right here at BookEnds. Angie Fox posted about her own experience in her blog post Taking Charge of Your Career, and author Bella Andre has responded to her readers by self-epublishing some of her erotic romances. That being said, neither of these authors made the decision to self-epublish lightly. Both carefully considered why they were doing it and worked very, very hard to ensure that the product they were putting out was just as good as, if not better than, any book they’d ever written or published traditionally. Most important, they have continued to keep their author brand in mind and are always working to make sure that their next book is always better than the last, whether it’s been self-epublished or traditionally published.

When it comes to readers you are only as good as your last book, and by last book I mean the last book they read. So even if your most recently written title is the one coming out from Big Name Publishing House, the one readers will remember and base future buying decisions on is the one they last purchased. So while self-epublishing can be an exciting way to move those books out from under your bed, you need to consider whether that’s the best decision for your career.

Let’s look at it his way: You have a series of historical romances you’re publishing with Publisher XYZ and they’re doing great. Your career is on the rise and readers love you, so you start thinking of all of those paranormal romances you wrote years ago. You still love those books and why wouldn’t your readers? They’ve made it clear they can’t get enough of you. So you dust them off and send them out to self-epublish. But those books aren’t as good as your historical romances. You might love them, but let’s face it, you’ve grown a lot in the last 10 years and the reason you are having so much success is because you’ve worked hard to perfect your craft. You also have an editor who works hard with you. You constantly praise her for her brilliant mind and editorial eye. You can’t say enough about how good she makes you look, but obviously if you’re self-publishing she won’t be involved with this book. And it shows. Of course readers snatch up your books because they love you, but they’re disappointed. The books aren’t what they’ve come to expect from you, and now they feel like they’ve wasted their hard-earned money and time reading books they found unsatisfying. Your next historical romance is published and sales drop. Your publisher can’t figure it out, they blame it on the cover, but the truth is that the readers have moved on. They don’t want to risk wasting more money or more time so they’ve found another author to follow.

Is this a doomsday scenario? Yes, it is, and I realize that, but it seems we’ve read so many stories lately about authors making millions by self-epublishing that I wanted to use an extreme example to remind you not why self-epublishing is bad, because I don’t think it is, but why you need to carefully consider what you’re putting out. It’s not the fact that you self-epublished your paranormal romances that’s the problem, it’s the fact that you’ve decided to put out a product that simply wasn’t as good a

21 Comments on Building Your Career on Kindle, the Published, last added: 11/24/2010

The various digital retailers are also a pretty good way to place work that doesn't fit well elsewhere because of length: short stories and novellas. I placed a longer short story under my usual pen name that had already been published in a literary journal. I ended up selling about 2,000 copies and getting some very nice reviews. Not a fortune at 35% of the .99 cent price, but certainly good promotion for my novels and my author brand.

And thank you, Jessica, for clarifying the terms you used. ePublishing shouldn't be confused with self-publishing, as I'm sure the nice people at Carina, Samhain and the others would want emphasized. The GOOD ePublishers provide editing, copyediting, coverart and promotion.

Anonymous said, on 11/23/2010 8:37:00 AM

There is also an aspect to this you didn't point out, which is understandable because there are so many new factors to consider.

Up until a few years ago, many erotic romance authors were submitting short stories to print publishers for anthologies. These authors were paid a small flat fee and there were no royalties involved. Which was fine...it was expected...an no one cared. It was more about building publishing credits than making money.

However, when the authors submitted to these publishers the authors had no idea that the print anthologies would one day become kindle e-books. The contracts were worded ambigiously and none of these authors are getting royalties on the e-book sales now. In some cases, the authors have moved on to e-publishers and these back listed books are now competing with their newly released e-books. In my case, they are all listed on goodreads right along with my newer books and readers have no idea they are not supporting the authors when they buy the back listed books.

But thanks to self-publishing e-books, and contracts that read "non-exclusvie" these authors aren't totally screwed. They can now re-release their own short stories as stand alone e-books and collect the royalties they deserve.

Anonymous said, on 11/23/2010 9:02:00 AM

I'm considering e-publishing, but where can one find a list of legit e-publishers? Thanks.

Anonymous said, on 11/23/2010 9:38:00 AM

Anon: Amazon. Who else do you need? Someone to take your royalties in exchange for editing and cover art? Develop your own stable of professionals to handle these things for you. Pay them up front. Publish with Amazon at $2.99 or less and you've got 70% forever, never go out of print.

Anonymous said, on 11/23/2010 9:43:00 AM

To the above anon, I say "forever" or until Amazon changes things up. They cold decide to stop selling ebooks, or to switch to a new model and only feature those under the new model. Never know.

Thanks for this informative series of posts from your perspective. From non-writers I constantly hear: Why do you need an agent or a big publisher? Just e-publish yourself! It's so frustrating.

http://tericarter.wordpress.com

Anonymous said, on 11/23/2010 11:28:00 AM

In response to anon @ 11:37 am

I've experienced this, too. And I'd like to suggest one thing to all new authors who are submitting short stories to traditional publishers who are doing print anthologies:

Don't settle for the flat author fee anymore, and let them know it. These print books are going to become digital, they will be around for a long time gaining new readers, and you should be getting a percentage of the digital royalties you deserve. And if the publisher won't agree, don't submit. There are plenty of reputable e-publishers out there looking for new authors who are willing to pay royalities on e-book sales for short story anthologies...as well as a flat fee up front. I'm not talking about millions of dollars in your pocket. But these publishers are very sneaky and they are making profits now thanks to e-books they never thought they'd make.

At the very least, make sure you sign "non-exclusives," so you can self-publish down the line if you wish.

It's not that agents are going away. Established writers still need them, because the more deals you have, the more help you need. But what's changing is the role of agents for NEW (meaning, as yet unpublished for significant money) writers. New writers no longer need agents to break in. If it sells well enough on Amazon, the agents and publishers will come to YOU. So in my mind, it's a waste of energy for a new writer to worry about an agent, indeed, to worry about anything but writing the best possible book and having it sell.

This is so interesting. In an age when everyone wants to be published or remain a published author the lure of going it on your own by self-publishing is strong.But as stated there are many issues to consider as there are in any business decision. Thank you for posting this.Stella

One thing I think this post overlooks is actually the most important (to me) aspect of self-pubbing e-books: freedom. I've had ten books published by four big five companies and had a great time with them. But there have also been book ideas that were deemed insufficiently commercial - mostly things outside my normal genre -- that ultimately went unwritten.

What e-pub means to me is that I'm free to write any book I want -- just as a painter is free to paint any picture he wants -- without having to convince a publisher that it'll be worth their very considerable investment. This has been creatively explosive for me. I'm working on one book for commercial publication and two for e-book publication. As a novelist, I've never felt this free.

I have to agree with Timothy. How many times have authors and agents heard the comment from editors, when a manuscript or outline is under consideration, that they are rejecting it because they don't feel it is marketable? I ran across this a few years back, after one of my books (The Iron Rose) was praised by Publisher's Weekly as being one of the top seven fiction books released that year. I write Historical Romance, so that was doubly exciting. Yet when I informed my editor that I planned to write a sequel, which was in response to enthusiastic demands from my readers...I was told it would likely be "unmarketable" that "pirate books" were not selling. Hmmm. Wonder if anyone told Michael Crichton that when he submitted Pirate Latitudes?

Bottom line is I still have the bones of that manuscript and now I'm free to flesh it out and publish it myself.

Timothy Hallinan and Marsha echo my concerns. I have been traditionally published, but as I've started to write stories that veer from the mainstream, and with houses who celebrated less conventional projects (like Tricycle Press) unable to stay in business, I worry that my stories may not find a home among traditional publishers. With self epublishing, I'm free to explore the quirky projects, while still doing other more mainstream work. But quality is also a big concern for me, which is why I have not done it... yet.

Anonymous said, on 11/24/2010 11:20:00 AM

". Wonder if anyone told Michael Crichton that when he submitted Pirate Latitudes?"

Actually, Crichton never did submit PL, it was dredged up posthumously from his computer in order to keep him going.

Tricycle Press--which has published a lot of great books that are out of the mainstream--still exists. Random House acquired it about a year ago but the editorial office remains in California, and at least for now the press is continuing to bring out those types of books that built its reputation, including the recent Americas Award winner in the picture book category, Carmen Tafolla's bilingual What Can You Do with a Paleta?/¿Qué puedes hacer con una paleta?

I finished my first novel, a humorous women's fiction (chick lit), earlier this year and began querying agents. I received my fair share of rejections off the bat, and I began to think that part of my problem is that chick lit has taken a drastic dive in popularity. But, as I had spent a year of my life writing the blasted thing, I persisted. In the meantime, I started and almost finished my second novel, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde that would probably appeal to the YA market.

In recent weeks, I have had several agents respond to my first query, asking to see partials and fulls, and one offer of representation.

My question is this: Should I abandon my second novel for now and start writing some more humorous fiction in order to build a following? Or should I finish my YA ms. and then switch back to chick lit? I hate being confined to one genre, because after spending a year writing in one style, it is very tempting to try something new. But I don't want to confuse my fans (assuming, of course, that I get any).

The simple answer to this question is that you need to talk to your agent if you choose to sign with one. Personally, I think there’s definitely a correlation between what was once chick lit and what people are writing as YA now. We’re seeing a lot of former chick lit authors go in that direction. However, yes, it could be a problem if you’re published as a women’s fiction author and suddenly switch to YA, unless you feel that you could write two books a year, let’s say, and do one of each.

If you choose to sign with an agent, or are considering signing with one, this is a discussion you should have before signing. Find out how the agent envisions your career and what she thinks about your two directions. Having this discussion may help you decide if she’s the right agent for you or what you should be doing.

If you think you might like to write both genres, be sure you query only agents who rep both.

While my former agent was shopping my YA ms, I decided to switch gears to women's fiction. She left the business, and no one else in that agency repped commercial women's fiction. In retrospect, I should have either gone with a more diverse agency or else stuck with YA for a few successful books, before trying something new.

I've spent the last two years experimenting with my writing, so as I begin querying again this winter, I'll better understand where my interests and skills lay.

This is something I wonder about. Do some people have different agents for all their different genres? Because, even if you find an agent who likes your work in two genres, you may at some point want to try something else. There are children's book authors who also write for adults, and fiction writers who are also poets. Why limit ourselves, is how I see it.

I'm in that same exact position. Just sold a women's fiction/chick lit book. Then wrote a YA novel which is chick lit-ish. Now I'm writing a sequel to the first, which is WF/CL. The long and short of it is, I've decided to write at least two books a year, one in each genre. But I have fans who are looking forward to the YA as much as they're looking forward to the sequel. So, I don't think they're always mutually exclusive depending on what you write.

I don't know if it is great advice as I have never been in the position and would love to be in it, but have you considered writing one genre under one pen name and then the other under another? I can't stand that people feel like they have to write a certain genre because it’s popular or because they found their success with it and now have to stick with it.I love to read everything out there that I am able to get my hands on and in turn I enjoy writing it all too. I think as long as you stay true to your voice then you will stay true to the people that enjoy reading your work.

I think a lot of women read both Chick Lit and YA...I know I do and I really enjoy both. Though I do stick with writing CL/WF....I tried writing Ya, but my themes just get too mature....too much, in my opinion, for 14-16 y/o's to read.

Anonymous said, on 11/10/2010 3:49:00 PM

". . .Find out how the agent envisions your career. . ."

The agent, one would hope, will have useful insight, but don't let the tail wag the dog. Always keep the whip hand.

The 'book a year per genre' deal is problem and you'll have to find a balance between art and career. It's generally doable. As with anything else, there will be some people who can't and some people who won't.

2) Congratulations to Lisa Willman, who followed the approach in my self-paced workbook, Writing Children's Nonfiction Books for the Educational Market. She's got a contract writing materials for Carson-Dellosa (and with the number of packets she sent out, I won't be surprised if she has more contracts soon). And congratulations to Lisa Amstutz, who took my online class on the same topic and now has two books coming out with Capstone.

3) I recently sat in a bookstore paging through a bunch of great children's magazines, reading all the poetry. So many great pieces, and I was especially pleased to see a lovely one in Cricket called, "When I Knock on the Sister Door, It Opens," by April Halprin Wayland.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer. Always. But wanting to be a writer is probably a lot like wanting to be a baseball player. Or a movie star. A lot of people want it, but most will settle for something else.

One thing that sets me apart from other people is I’m determined. Some might say stubborn. I’m also relatively patient. When I want something, I go after it. And I don’t give up until I get it.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have doubts. I’ve had a lot of doubts about my writing through the years. There have been times I wondered if I was wasting my time…times I considered giving up…times I wished I could look into a crystal ball and see whether I was ever going to get anywhere. Would I ever get published? Would I ever publish a book? Would I ever publish a book with my name on it rather than someone else’s? Would I ever publish a series? That’s what I really wanted to do…publish a series of my own.

Now that I’m more than twenty years into my writing career, I know the answers to those questions. If I could actually talk to a younger version of myself at various points my life, and offer some advice, this is what I would say:

Dear 21-year-old Dori,

Dori at 21

You’re just starting your adult life. You’re married, but you don’t have any kids yet. You’ve just made the decision not to go on to graduate school. Instead you’re going to be a children’s book author! Part of you is wondering if you’re making the right decision. Don’t worry…you are. But you won’t really know that for a while yet. And even when you do know it, some of the reasons why it was a good decision will surprise you.

So what are you working on? An eight-book picture book series called Plato Goes to Obedience School. Wow. Eight books, huh? All about a cocker spaniel who goes to obedience school. You don’t realize this yet, but you don’t have enough story there to sustain one book, much less eight. You’ve got the start of a character, but no plot. No. I’m sorry, you really don’t.

Let me ask you this: What does Plato want? What is he willing to do to get it? What is he going to DO in each of these eight books to move the story forward? Where’s the conflict? Where’s the adventure? Where are the high stakes? You need to read A LOT more picture books if you think you want to write picture books. You need to learn the elements of a good story. In fact, maybe you should think about writing just one good story at this point. It’s too early to be thinking about a series.

I know you really want to write a series. But trust me, you’re not ready. And Plato Goes to Obedience School is NOT series material. By the way, six-year-olds don’t even know who Plato was, so you might consider changing the name of that dog. Yeah, I know…that’s really your dog’s name, but nobody cares. Please, do me a favor. Don’t send that series proposal out. Just keep reading, keep writing, keep learning. One day you will publish a series of your own. It’ll even be a series about dogs! But it’s not going to be Plato Goes to Obedience School. It’s just not. Put this away and don’t ever show it to ANYONE! You still have so much to learn…

Two years ago, two and a half actually, we had an intern named Holly. Holly was (is, actually) smart, ambitious and loves publishing. We really enjoyed having Holly around. Even better for us, and hopefully for Holly, she was here at a perfect time. Near the end of Holly’s internship our assistant announced she was leaving for another job. Since Holly was here, graduating, and looking for a job, it seemed only natural to offer it to her. Unfortunately, at the time we couldn’t bring Holly in full-time and, frankly, I’m not sure she wanted to be an agent. While she enjoyed (I hope) working for BookEnds, she really had dreams of working in Manhattan as an editor for one of the bigger houses.

So we made a deal. Holly would take the job part-time while looking for a gig in Manhattan. We would work together, honestly and fairly. She knew we were looking for someone to take on the assistant role and we knew she was looking for something more permanent. And then I heard of an opening at St. Martin’s, so I sent out an email to the editor. I told the editor of Holly’s brilliance and passed along her resume. In just a few short weeks Holly had the job.

Like many interns and assistants, Holly made sure to load up on books before leaving, taking along books by one of her favorite BookEnds clients, Angie Fox. When Holly started her job she told her boss about Angie’s work. The boss read The Accidental Demon Slayer and fell in love. She called and talked about Angie and I promised that when Angie had something new I would keep her in mind. And I did.

Just this summer I finalized a deal between Angie Fox and St. Martin’s for Angie’s fabulous new series (and yes, I’m purposely keeping you in suspense). Even more exciting, we’ve actually done another deal with Holly for another client. I feel like a proud mama watching her little chick leave the nest.

It just goes to show how much building bridges and personal connections do matter in this business- which IMO is a really really great thing. (There are a lot of businesses where the humanity of the matter is almost null and void). Congrats Holly and Jessica- for delivering your baby bird into brilliant hands!

This is a great example of what happens behind the scenes in publishing. Although I have to tell you that I didn't originally hear this story from Jessica or Holly (modest anyone?) but from my new editor.

And that's why, when I first started my career, I wanted an agent. All I can do as an author is write the best book I can. But an agent can take that work and help bring you to the next level.

What a great story. And what I love most is that you didn't hold Holly back. You supported her even though that meant losing her. That's what true friendship is all about. I'm a big believer in giving back and helping others any way I can. Your actions speak volumes. Thanks for sharing this story and good luck to all of you. And here's something to remember: You just never know who is watching and how you might affect them through your actions. True story. I went to the YMCA the other week and this woman came up to me and said, "I've been watching you and I have to tell you that you have inspired me to lose weight. I see you working hard and you don't care what you look like (I'm usually very sweaty and, umm, look like a wet dog) and I think 'look at her go.' I'm gonna try." And then she thanked me. I was blown away. So whenever I go to the Y and she's there, she tells me how many minutes she's been able to go on the treadmill. Maybe it was 5 minutes and I encourage her to try to add another minute. But the point is that in life, we need to encourage one another. Life's not all about you or me. Anyway, kudos for looking out for others. You made a difference in someone's life and that, my friend, is the true treasure. Have a great day.

Buffy, your story is just as cool as Jessica, Holly and Angie's! And I really do need a few "feel good" stories today--thanks, Jessica. It's really cool to know where Holly landed. And, since I'm a huge Angie Fox fan, I'm really looking forward to her new series! (Though I'm really going to miss her motorcycle-riding gramma witches...)

It almost seems like a touch of good Karma. BookEnds didn't hold Holly back, but instead gave her a platform on which to launch into the industry. And in the end, it sounds like BookEnds and one of its authors benefited.

A great look into the workings of the industry. Thanks so much for sharing!

I love this story! I love Buffy's story, too. But what I like the best about your story is that everyone involved did the right thing without thinking of themselves. Unfortunately, out here in Hollywood, doing the right thing only counts when there is someone watching--especially if you're an agent. Everyone in your tale did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. No one was looking for kudos. My favorite part was reading Angie's comment. She didn't even know what you'd done. Thank you for making my day.

STATUS: First day of fall. Makes me kind of sad. I want summer to stay awhile longer.

What’s playing on the XM or iPod right now? WONDER by Natalie Merchant

…for bankruptcy, what is the best thing an author can do?

My answer? Get your rights reverted before the filing so the books aren’t tied up indefinitely by the court as non-reverted titles will be deemed assets of the company.

By the way, this is true even if you have a bankruptcy clause in your contract specifying that rights automatically revert. Bankruptcy courts don’t perceive it that way and they trump contract clause.

I also suggest you get a full accounting, if you can, of what is owed to you. You want this for several reasons: 1) if you have to file a claim as a creditor in the bankruptcy, you’ll know for how much. 2) you might be able to take the amount loss as a tax deduction (but ask a tax expert first).

Kristen, I don't know much about publishing contracts, so forgive me if this question doesn't make sense. What grounds can the author use in this circumstances to get her rights back? I'm guessing "suspects publisher is going to go bankrupt" isn't grounds enough?

I'm confused--I've heard this a couple of times--What's the point of having a bankruptcy clause if nobody will acknowledge it? I mean, I'm guessing it's important so that you'll eventually be able show proof of ownership--It just seems like the clause should avert all the hassle in the first place...

I'm taking a bankruptcy class right now, so these posts on bankruptcy are really interesting.

nymfaux- the clauses are generally put in for one of three reasons- they're either standard and no one has bothered to take them out of the form, one party knows they aren't enforceable, but for whatever reason wants to mislead the other party, or neither party knows they aren't enforceable. There might be other reasons, but those are the main ones I can think of.

Bankruptcy tends be a specialized area, and nonbankruptcy lawyers often don't have any background it it.

Something else to remember--any reversions made within a certain time period before the publisher's bankruptcy filing are deemed void by the bankruptcy court. It used to be six months, but please check with an attorney.

What this means is if the publisher signs the rights back to the author the week before they file, the court looks at it as an attempt by the publisher to defraud his other creditors.

Frequently I receive requests for interviews from writers, newsletters, and students working on papers for class, and I do make an effort to answer as many as I have time for. Luckily, many of the questions are the same from interview to interview, so I can reuse material. Recently, though, I did an interview and wondered why I wasn’t sharing this same information with my blog readers. So from time to time I’m going to post the interviews I’ve been doing here on the blog.

The first is a request I received from a student at Eastern Michigan University. The student was doing a class project on careers and was interested in literary agents and publishing, so here’s what I shared . . .

What's a typical day like for you? I don’t think there is a typical day for me, which is one of the things I love about my job. I don’t think I would do well in a job that was even the least bit predictable.

Each day takes shape depending on the emails and phone calls I need to make or receive. For example, if I get a call from a publisher offering a contract on a book, my entire day, and all my plans, will likely be placed on the back burner as I communicate with the author and editors about the book and begin contract negotiations.

If I receive a panicked email or phone call from a client I could spend the rest of the day working with that client to smooth out the wrinkles in her manuscript or work on revisions.

If I hear from an author who has an offer of representation or a contract offer from another agent or a publisher and I want to get in the game, I will likely have to drop everything to read that material and consider it for representation.

If things go smoothly and I am receiving few emails or phone calls, I could actually spend my day answering interviews like this, reading queries, or catching up on proposals.

Typically, though, I start the day by reading email, checking up on industry news through various different formats like Publishers Weekly, Publishers Marketplace, blogs and Twitter, and then base the rest of the day on what I find there.

What kind of writing do you do as part of your job? I honestly don’t think I do that much writing, but keep in mind I work with writers. It’s hard to say you write when you work with people who write thousands of words a day.

I do keep an almost daily blog, I send emails, I write revision letters to clients and, most important, I write pitch letters to editors to sell the books I represent. These pitch letters, or query letters, are really marketing pieces and can sometimes take hours to craft.

What kind of information do you typically look for on resumes and is there a specific format you prefer candidates to use? I look for experience first. I think one of the biggest mistakes candidates make is assuming their education is the most important thing they’ve done. If you’ve done internships of any kind I would put that at the top of the page; experience shows me that you’re different and more ambitious than anyone else I’m interviewing.

I also look for candidates with an interest in commercial fiction. I think that for many students there’s a prejudice against commercial fiction or genre fiction. You’ve been engrossed in reading literary books or classics for years, which are great, but as an agent who represents commercial fiction I need someone who loves romance and mystery, young adult and anything that’s new and different.

What is your favorite part of the job? Brainstorming with my clients. There’s nothing I love more than helping shape an idea and create a book.

How did you become interested in this field? The love of words. I studied journalism in college and worked on the college newspaper all four years. I really thought I wanted to be a reporter, but by the time I graduated I knew the newspaper business wasn’t for me, but I wasn’t sure where I belonged

11 Comments on Careers in Publishing, an Interview, last added: 9/21/2010

Not only the love of words but what they do, inflame, move, calm,assure. They can break your heart, change your life, even save your life. Yeah, it's the love of them because they do all that and more.

Like piss off my boss because I'm late again because I'm doing this instead of driving to work. I'll tell them I got stuck behind a school bus that always seems to work.ah...I think school started already.Words lie too. Ha !

I particularly liked how you mentioned experience and internships being important.

Could you possibly address in another post what types of experience and internships could be typical for a writer, or that you've seen? Maybe I am overlooking or overthinking it, or missing a whole area for these. I am a stay at home, homeschooling Mama who writes whenever I can, and I'm going to be racking my brain now for good areas of internships or additional experience to throw in the mix.

Anyway, you've given me lots to think about today! Have a great one! :-)

Thank you for letting us come alongside you for a day. The life of an agent is intriguing to me not only as a writer, but as someone who could see himself in the future being an encourager of other writers.

Great interview. I know I got into the right business because it's the love of the words and helping shape a book to its final project that brought be to it. It's nice knowing that experienced agents never lose that love (more for me to look forward to).

Thanks for the interesting background on your career. However, you left me hanging. Your narrative takes you as far as when you entered publishing, but you don't say how you moved into the agent's role. I'm guessing that it wasn't the first job you had in the publishing industry.

I confess to a motive besides curiosity. I'm writing a book about career moves, one of which is moving into brokering or agency. I'm wondering how you acquired the skills and made the transition.

Former editor/publisher and now Writers House agent Ken Wright answers any business-related questions from the room. (He notes-he's not a financial advisor.)

Six months before one of his client's book comes out, Ken holds a marketing meeting with his author an their publisher.

There's no rule of thumb on advances. It's market driven. He's not fan of big advances, because of the risk of not earning them out and then not looking like an success to your publisher.

Advances for first time novelists can range from $15,000 to in the hundreds of thousands. He says first-time nonfiction authors would likely get a higher advance than for fiction.

He's a big advocate of promoting your book through school visits, but said that he has a few clients who do a little TOO much of that, which takes away from their writing. Every book and every situation is different, but self-promotion is always important and necessary.

It's OK to take work-for-hire or technical writing or other kinds of gigs if money is an issue. And you don't necessarily need to use a psuedonym--that's on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to the initial negotiation, as an agent, he takes care of sub-rights, flow through (release of money to the author), and contract delays that affect the writer.

Agents definitely increase the response time from publishers. As a rule, he checks in with editors about his submissions every two weeks.

What's a good persentage of your earning to spend on marketing? The rule of thumb is 5%.

0 Comments on Ken Wright: The Financial Realities of Your Career: Frank Questions and Answers as of 1/1/1900

A few weeks ago I had the honor of attending BEA2010 (no not the BEA that happened last week) which was part of the 2010NAB conference. I was there to celebrate the launch of the BBC College of Journalism Website (COJO) a collaboration between OUP and the BBC. The site allows citizens outside of the UK access to the online learning and development materials created for BBC journalists. It is a vast resource filled to the brim with videos, audio clips, discussion pages, interactive modules and text pages covering every aspect of TV, radio, and online journalism. At the conference I had a chance to talk with Kevin Marsh, the Executive Editor of COJO, and I will be sharing clips from our conversation for the next few weeks. This week I have posted a clip in which Kevin shares why he choose journalism as a career. Read Kevin’s blog here. Watch the other videos in this series here and here.

Before I was published, I thought of writing as a calling. My stories were my art. I still think these things, but now I understand that writing for publication is also very much a business. My stories are products I’m peddling.

Does that sound harsh? It does grate on me a little, but I try very hard to adopt this point of view when I’m dealing with the business side of publishing. Besides making general good sense, it helps cut down on the psychic wear and tear as my “baby” is evaluated and changed by the publishing/review process.

Let’s look at The Call first, shall we? When I got my first offer, I was ecstatic. My life-long dream had come true. A real, live editor wanted to buy my story. I wouldn’t have paid her to publish it, but beyond that I wasn’t much concerned about money.

Mistake number one. Money is very important, as my lovely editor on the other end of that phone line knew very well. If I’d been agented at the time, Jessica would have pointed that out--but if I’d been agented, the editor would have called Jessica, not me. (When I was touring my publisher’s office with my editor and Jessica once, I asked about foreign copies, saying I was more interested in seeing the covers than the money. Jessica politely pointed out that I was also very interested in the money.)

It’s an editor’s job to acquire manuscripts that will sell and make her publishing house buckets of money. Maybe little tiny buckets given the current economy, but the goal is definitely to land in the black. Yes, she should love the story, but chances are--at least in commercial fiction--she’s offering to buy your manuscript because she thinks it will sell well. Jessica or Kim would know better than I since they’ve been editors, but I imagine an editor’s career is on the line somewhat with every book she acquires. Buying one or two manuscripts that sink like a stone when tossed into the bookselling pond probably isn’t the end of the world, but an editor with enough such stones to build an underwater castle will likely soon be looking for other work.

When calling to offer for your book, the editor may well start off telling you what a wonderful writer you are and how wonderful your book is, but before she hangs up, she’ll mention the advance she’s willing to offer and that might not be so very wonderful. This is where the real business fun begins if you’re a good negotiator. (And this is one reason I have Jessica--I’m more like the dog you meet that will just turn over on her back to get her belly scratched. I am NOT a negotiator.) You won’t be talking about character development or pacing, but about such very important business-y things as advance amount and payment schedule, royalty rates on print and e-book formats, delivery dates, and option clauses. If you reach an agreement, then you’ll get a contract in the mail. Chances are reading that will make your head hurt. (And even though I have Jessica, I always do read my contracts very carefully.)

20 Comments on The Business of Writing by Sally MacKenzie, last added: 6/1/2010

Holy Cow! Thank you so much for this insight into the 'business' side of it all. Most of these things had either never occured to me or I just didn't know where to look for information. I found this really really interesting. Thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you for this great post. Most business-related posts come from from agents, with a few from indie publishers. These are informative but often miss the author's POV. Most author posts cover the creative side only. It's nice to see one that balances both sides of what is, after all, a business.

I been in the art world for many years and found some of the most talented artists are still working their day jobs because they are focused 100% on the creative side. Those who learn the business side - just as they had learned the creative side - are financially successful. Beyond that, marketplace demands also forced them to grow as artists. We're all a bit lazy. Having something external hold our noses to the grindstone helps us in the long run.

Thank you

Anonymous said, on 6/1/2010 6:09:00 AM

I learned most of that from being a blogging book reviewer, through observation and interacting with authors.

One thing though. If you've been slugging your way through Queryland for a while and the economy goes into the toilet, you're going to move into the old proverb-

I'm stacking up requests for Fulls right now and it's kinda scary. What if an offer comes from a reputable ePublisher while a Full's still out with an uber-agent? I can't help but think, "Hey, that agent's going to reject anyway, if she responds at all."

Thanks so much for this post. It's always helpful to hear, first hand, what an author has to tackle after their first call. It gives us an invaluable peek at what to expect...especially regarding the business side of things.

I think all college students should be required to take a few business classes, regardless of their major. It doesn't matter if you plan on being an artist, doctor, teacher or writer...there's a business aspect to all professions.

I have to say my business side is constantly evolving. I admire writers who embrace all the business stuff enthusiastically from the get-go, but I'm a little more of a foot dragger. I think everyone has to strike the balance that's right for them. We can't ignore that we are CEOs of our small businesses, but we still have to protect our creative wells. For example, blogging may make good business sense, but I can't maintain a regular blog and still get my contracted writing done. Others can.

Anonymous 9:09, I don't know how it works with offers from epublishers--it used to be that agents rarely were involved in those deals, but that could have changed--but when I got an offer from my NY publisher, I called the agents who had expressed interest in my work. Jessica moved quickly to read my published book and offered representation. If you don't have an agent, I'd suggest having a literary attorney look over any contract before signing as it is possible to severely tie up your career with a legal false step. I didn't do that with my first contract, but I got lucky. Relying on luck is generally not a great business plan.

Thank you so much for all this insight. I'm still a student, and trying to work on my first novel. I'm pursuing an English major but I may consider taking some business classes if I can. Now it's time to decide whether to give up from intimidation or press ahead with this newfound knowledge. I hope to succeed from the latter! Thanks again.

Sally, you have nailed SO MANY important points in this post! I wish I'd seen something just like this before I sold my first book. It's all excellent advice, but when you figure out "stuff management," please let me know what works?

Samantha, don't be intimidated! Write the book--and then write the next one and the next one.

Kate, yeah, I'm drowning here. I'm supposed to get two sets of author copies this month--the antho that's coming out in mass market (it was in trade last year) has arrived, but the Viscount is still missing. And all those books we get at conferences! I'm having to steel my heart and give most of them away unread.

Kristan, the boilerplate thing really twisted my brain around at first until I finally got it sorted out. I was talking to agents and it was like we were both speaking English, but we weren't really speaking the same language. It makes sense, though, now that I get it. An agency takes the publisher's basic contract--the version most favorable to the publisher--and works at changing the clauses to better serve a client. When the next client comes along, agency and publisher don't go back to square one, they start at square two. Unagented author starts at square one and, in my case at least, probably doesn't have have the business sense or experience to even recognize the issues.

Great advice, thank you! I'll probably have to hunt this down years from now when I get published! It's interesting, though, to see what it's like once you're at that point in the road, and it's good to know what I have to look forward to!

What you said about looking at your writing from the business point of view is great advice. I was struggling with this exact thing. I started getting back a few rejections from the queries I sent out, and I didn’t handle it like I thought I would.

I knew I would get rejections; I even made a special folder to store them in. It was just a different ballgame when they actually started rolling in. I guess it felt like a direct attack on the material, which did nothing for my confidence in my work.

So I just told myself, “Self. Those agents are way swamped. They don’t have time to read every query, so they have to form reject a few. Just remember, that rejection letter is not a direct attack on your work; it’s a reflection of the agent’s taste, client load, and whether or not they were hung over from drinking wine all night while reading great fulls.”

When I was 23 I too 'sold by accident' my first book; without an agent...I was without a clue.

I thought that moment was my brass ring, providing me unending rides, to a writers life. Duh !

With my advance I purchased a used White Cadillac that drank more gas than an uncommitted member of AA and I bought a white German Shepherd dog that ate sticks and bit anything that moved, including me.The car broke down, the dog was hit by a pick-up and died and I did not deliver. The book was never published but Thank God I did not have to pay the advance back.Since then, I've been published many times,(not books.)It has been many ass-kicking years years since my big screw-up. Now, with one book done and another almost finished I am in query-for-an-agent-hell wondering if I should take up knitting.

Sally,thank you for your incite.

To all you young-uns out there heed her words, I just wish she was around when I went to buy my Caddy and Cojo.

Amy, tell yourself anything that gets you to keep writing. I pretty much don't read reviews any more because they mess with my head too much. Yes, we all need to develop a thick skin, but we also need to protect ourselves so we can keep creating.

Wry writer, I probably was around, pecking away at my electric typewriter as clueless as anyone--more clueless that most today as those were the years before the internet. I had a few "almost solds" when my kids were young and I was writing picture book texts--and then I quit writing for publication for about eight years when I was heavy into the carpool scene. I'm thinking very, very few, if any, writers have a smooth, straight path. As far as I can tell, there is no job security in this biz.

Amy Nichols said, on 6/1/2010 6:22:00 PM

Sally,

Thanks so much for the reminder. I'm trying to look at this as a business and start those "business habits" now with writing schedules and such.

STATUS: I finished up to client full manuscripts this week. I’m finally catching up.

What’s playing on the iPod right now? ICE CREAM by Sarah McLachlan

As promised, here are some of the books that I’ve read over the years. Please note that this isn’t an endorsement of any book. Read at your own risk. Big grin here. I’m simply highlighting some of the books I have read.

This is by no means a complete list. Just what I can remember off the top of my head.

For general philosophy, thinking outside the box and general good having a business reading I recommend an older book called Growing a business by Paul Hawken. It was very useful to me when I started a small business in college.

No one can live without money. So why do I find finance so dry and - yes - boring! I love the clever name of your blog, but why have you referred to 'Irish' pubs particularly? Pubs are everywhere. The great British pub is an institution! I'm sorry to be so curious, but I'm Irish, you see!

1) Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Lapin2) I second The Millionaire Next Door that's in your list.3) The Millionaire Mind by Thomas Stanley.4) The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (for people who want to live without using credit... lots of interesting facts, fabulous budgeting tools)5) The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

"Get A Financial Life" by Beth Kobliner is terrific and easy to follow. It's the only book I've read that actually explained the difference between regular IRAs and Roth IRAs in a way I could understand, and it's filled with practical advice.

Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin - loved the philosophy from a financial, personal fulfillment and environmental standpoint. Sigh...if only I had more willpower to live my life less ordinary.

Anonymous said, on 8/12/2009 8:35:00 AM

I don't know if you're into stock trading as opposed to investing, but if you are then you should check out How to Make Money in Stocks, by William O'Neil. He's the founder of investors.com and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to stock picking.

I love anything written by Suze Ormand. I've had long talks with my single girlfriends about what was your first Suze book, what made it great, how did it change your life, etc. I love how she addresses the emotional side of money and connects it to very sound money advice. My first Suze book really helped me change my life financially and gave me the tools to pay off my credit card debt and student loans and get to the point where I could buy a condo AND increase my retirement savings. Really. Suze Ormand. You can't go wrong!

I often discuss with you how a big part of my job is career planning, and to me that doesn’t mean just sitting down and plotting how to make the bestseller list, but discussing what direction the next writing project will take. Should a series writer continue her current, successful series and add yet another to her plate or would she be better off dumping this series altogether for something fresh and new? Should a historical writer change her style to meet some of the current trends in historicals (more sex, more sex) or is part of her appeal the fact that she hasn’t embraced market trends? Should a contemporary author with declining numbers move away from contemporary altogether (is it the genre?) and embrace the paranormal trend, or is it less about the genre and more about the hook or the ideas she’s coming up with?

Just as it is for unpublished writers, published writers are constantly looking within themselves to discover their strengths and find out what would be the next best direction, and as an agent it’s my job to help support them in that as well as to give any input they might want. For each author this is a different experience and I really let my authors decide how they want to use me best. For some we have many, many email exchanges and phone calls, while others prefer to spend “alone time” writing, reading, and exploring new and different directions. Either way, I will tell you that this is a frustrating and nerve-wracking time for the author, and if I can do anything it’s really just be there as a show of support and try to guide the author in a positive direction.

What is fascinating for me through all this is watching the author process work. It’s different for everyone and it should be different for everyone. We’re all unique individuals with unique experiences and ideas so why should we expect a writing process to be the same? However, one thing that is the same is the reaction the author has when suddenly she reaches that Eureka moment, when after endless hours of discussion and writing, some of which just wasn’t clicking, it suddenly strikes. Like lightning from the sky, the author does a 180 and just knows what needs to be done. I swear it changes her as a person. The heavy burden of writing lifts and putting word to page is joyful again. What is so fascinating about the Eureka moment is that I know when it hits too. Not that I have some psychic premonition, but when I get the email or phone call that suddenly this is it, I know it in my heart, in my bones, in the same way the author does. I can honestly say, I get chills when it just feels right.

This post has me wondering, do you and the author usually see eye-to-eye on career directions? Or does the author sometimes have a wildly different (or wildly unrealistic) idea of how his/her career is going to progress?

I would guess that everyone does...we're all creative beings...I wonder what it is, though. What is that 'Eureka' moment? :)

Whatever it is, it's wonderful.

But it's good to talk about this, because part of the 'Eureka' moment is trust. Trusting that it will happen, even when it feels really far away. That all of the struggle and hard work is heading toward something; that moment of clarity and direction.

Just wanted to say (and I write kid's lit, so this isn't butt-kissing), I cannot wait to have an agent. I know that's obvious; we all do for the selling our work part, but you guys are so supportive and understanding of writers and the shenanigans involved in our work. Great post, Jessica

Having had one such moment while writing the proposal that will launch me in mass market after writing trade for the past four years, I can honestly say that it's an amazing feeling, the sense that everything suddenly clicks into place. I imagine it like all the tumblers in a huge combination safe lock falling into their proper sequence and the door swinging wide open. The proper combination was there all the time, but you have to line them up perfectly to access the rest of the ideas. I came close with my first shot at the proposal, but after reading it through, Jessica was able to see the obvious that I had missed. This was much more a team effort than Wolf Tales. In that case, I wrote it and Jessica sold it, but with my new DemonSlayers series, we tossed ideas around, I wrote, Jessica critiqued, I revised and THEN she sold it. The whole thing was a pretty amazing experience.

Jessica, I tweeted this very thing yesterday: "Falling in love w/my new wip! It's taken 50+ pages to feel the love, but what a great feeling!"

Until that point, I was sort of trudging along, just having faith in the process. Then, all of a sudden, the clouds parted and the angels started playing their golden trumpets. To quote The Dead, "What a long strange trip" this writing this is...

Of course, I don't know, but I sure imagine that this is near the top of the list of what every unagented author yearns for when they sit at home, struggle, and wish they had an agent!

Anonymous said, on 8/14/2009 9:55:00 AM

These are the moments we live for, that will help improve our mss. and land us a good agent.Just wish they happened more often--LOL

Anonymous said, on 8/14/2009 10:19:00 AM

Jessica,I like how you both guide your client but also have a respect for their creative ides. But I do have a question for you. My book is about to go on submission. I've been working with my agent for quite awhile on revisions. At the same time, I do have an almost complete draft of a second novel--but I hesitate to talk about this with her because I feel the focus is on book one (my contract is specific to book 1) and I feel that the reasonable thing to do is to wait and see what happens with book 1 submission before moving on to discussing book 2. Am I thinking right about this? I have mentioned book 2 to her and she said she'd be happy to look at anything I send her-- but I guess I feel, in a way, that the proof is in the pudding--that we need to take book one to its conclusion before going on to the next thing. Appreciate your advice.

I love those moments. They don't come often, but when they do, it's something to savor.

On another note, are most historicals all about the sex? I guess my book is gonna be different in that sense since it doesn't really have any :P

Ainsley MacQueen said, on 8/14/2009 10:23:00 AM

The worst part about a Eureka moment is not having anyone around who would completely understand and appreciate it.

When you call your writer friends, it sounds as if you're bragging. You husband nods and says "that's great" with a bit less enthusiasm than he said it when you told him what was for dinner. And your kids just smile that patronizing smile and ask if they can get back to their WOW quest, or do I expect them to watch me dance a little longer. As if I ask them to watch me jump around every day!

It's really nice to know my future agent might be the perfect one with whom to share 'Eureka!'.

The eureka moment is wonderful when we have them of course, but I wanted to comment on your other point. How you, and other wise agents, will plan a career for your authors. It’s nice to hear that your concern is for the long term relationship and not a single book. Thanks for that. When I’m finally represented, I hope it’s by an agent that shares your views.

It reminds me of how the music business used to be. We could all name dozens of artists from the 70’s that are still around but nowadays, they’re mostly one-hit wonders.

Anonymous said, on 8/14/2009 11:30:00 AM

I love this. I'd swear you are a secret writer, Jessica.So many of us (perhaps all of us) do go through day6s, weeks, even years of feeling that what we're writing is just not right, but we don't know why, and then suddenly, one day, it registers. After having a half dozen mysteries published, I got it in my head that I had to write a mainstream, just had to or I'd never be taken seriously as a writer. I spent quite a few years starting novels, writing maybe 30,000 words and then nothing. I had no idea what to do with these characters, and to make this short, it came to me one day that the only thing I truly enjoyed writing was a mystery, and that mystery plots were the only decent plots that came to me. I'm back writing mysteries, DO NOT consider the time wasted in the least b/c my writing vastly improved with the experience.

I actually agree with Charlie. I liked the part of the post where you talked about sitting down with the client to discuss their future. I would guess that some agents are better at teamwork than others. Even though we know it, it's just nice to hear teamwork plays a major part in career planning.

When I get a sudden flash of insight into a plot I'm working on, a sudden idea for a scene, a sudden interaction between two characters, or just a sudden creative burst of energy that inspires me to write something - I call those my "Muse Moments". A muse was usually defined as a spiritual or divine being, or even a mortal person that inspires that divine feeling, that is an artist's companion and inspiration for their creativity. For me, I use it to describe the moments where I get a sudden desire to be creative, as if my muse used a little bit of her magic on me.

That's just me, but hopefully that helps define it a little better. By contrast, I see "Eureka" moments as times when everything 'clicks' into place and it just feels like you're on the right path. I believe the source of it is our intuition telling us that we made the right decision.

I had one of those moments with my current wip. I tried several different ideas and it just wasn't working. Finally something clicked and it made sense. I had to cut 45 pages, but it's SO much better now.

The worst is when I try to force something that isn't natural to me. I want to be writing A so badly, but B is what is in my heart.

It just comes through on the page when the work is from the heart and when it isn't.

Fascinatin, because one of the things we're often told in the UK by agents is that if an author has any success with a first book, an agent will insist they write more of the same, and as an author that's a scary thought, because it takes a lot of books, and a lot of experimenting to push the boundaries in every direction and discover "your" voice - what you don't want is to be stuck in literary adolescence.

I had a Eureka moment a couple of weeks ago. I've known for years I wanted to write a love story with a middle-aged woman as lead, falling in love with a younger man. But I've never had a story to hang it on. I even changed my last novel to shift frommother to daughter because it's what the story needed. The 2 weeks ago I was on the bus and the whole thing came to me. So when I finish my curent novel in 5 weeks' time, I will begin Life Drawn freehand, the story of Ella, the 53 year-old life-drawing teacher whose son dies whilst volunteering in Africa, who decides to give her work and herself away for free for one year, for the sake of his lost life, and her lost ambition. She becomes a minor celebrity until she falls for a wealthy 17 year-old boy who takes her on a once in a lifetime trip to the place her son died. I haven't been so excited about a new project since, well, the last one.

And to show how web 2.0 the literary world is, the first thing I did was posted the synopsis and opening chapter on my blog, and put a link on twitter and all my friends' Facebook walls.

I had one of those moments about a month ago. My agent had asked me about the sequel to my latest work and I had to admit that I'd stalled on it because I couldn't figure out which direction to take it in, namely which characters to use for POV's. I had actually set the story aside, half written, for close to a year. Suddenly, I realized that one of the characters had kept showing up in scenes and I knew she was the one who needed to be heard. There's a certain sense of relief and renewed confidence that comes with those moments that just fills you with energy and enthusiasm.

These are some of the best feelings out there, and its good to know that agents can appreciate them in the exact same way that authors can.

I'm also glad to know that agents often have our careers in mind, and I hope that when I get an agent she doesn't mind selling four or five different genres with my name attached to it. I couldn't imagine just writing one genre, but that's me.

Kinda like that golden moment in second grade or thereabouts when it just clicks in that you can read now! Oh, the freedom and mystery at your disposal.

Kim said, on 8/15/2009 9:30:00 PM

This was a really great post to read since I am about to start sending out query letters for agent representation- I'll have to bookmark it for when the inevitable "no thank you's" come in, knowing that there's a "yes, please" somewhere on the horizon.

Paige, your post made me laugh because I had a HUGE Eureka moment in the middle of Costco one Tuesday afternoon, with all three of my kids in tow, and literally wrote half of a scene from my novel on the side of a box that once contained something like 10 pounds of Stacy's Naked Pita Chips. Gotta tell you, people stare at you when you do that :) Then I had to make sure that I kept that box! Just goes t oshow that your inspiration will hit you whenever it feels like doing so, and you're really at its mercy rather than the other way around.

Oh, by the way...now I keep a pen and pad in my bag at all times. And next to my bed. And in my car. And...

Over at Illustration For Kids, we girls have been answering the question this week: “How Long Have You Been Working As An Illustrator?” I posted my reply here. So if you go over there to read it, please also check out what Holli, Jannie, Jenn, and Anette had to say. Hopefully Claire and Susan will [...]

0 Comments on How Long? (Illustration For Kids Postings) as of 9/3/2009 10:40:00 PM

An author whose mystery I considered received an offer from a smaller press and had some questions for me before accepting the offer . . .

What are your thoughts on my pursuing this route? Is it worth doing in hopes of landing a big-time agent and/or publisher? Is it better to keep editing and approaching big-time agents? On average, what is a fair advance for a first-time mystery/suspense author w/a large publisher (what's too low?) and how many hardcover units do most first-time authors sell?

Of course the answer to these questions are going to vary widely, but I’ll see what I can do.

Whether or not you go with a small publisher depends greatly on your goals for your book. I’ve often said the same about those who choose to self-publish. Is your goal simply to get published or is your goal to be published with a big house? Certainly there are plenty of stories of authors who started out with smaller presses and moved on to big success with agents and larger houses. One thing that I think I’ve failed to address when this issue comes up, however, is not just how few and far between those successes are, but the time in which those successes happened. Sure, many of you will point to a bestselling author today and remind me that she did it that way, but did any of you consider that she launched her career 20 years ago? Publishing has changed dramatically in the past year, which means it’s difficult to look at something that happened 3, 4 or especially 5 to 10 years ago and use that as your guide.

A small press, heck a large press, does not give you an easy in to landing an agent or publisher. In fact, most often I see it hurting the author. An unpublished author only has to overcome the market and her own writing, a published author has to overcome the sales numbers of any previously published book. Those sales numbers, if low, are going to be a much higher hurdle to jump than any market shifts or agent subjectivity. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Bookstores place orders based on sales numbers of previously published books. If your last book only sold 5,000 copies in paperback, they are only going to order 5,000 copies of your book in paperback, and even fewer in hardcover (not that you would likely get a hardcover deal if your numbers were that low). Again, there are always exceptions, but this is the norm and this is what agents and editors will need to consider with any new project. And by the way, 5,000 copies is not enough to please a publisher.

How fair is an advance? There’s not a clear-cut answer to that because it depends on what you’re writing. Since you said mystery/suspense my question would be is it mystery or suspense? In all honesty, there aren’t that many publishers actively looking for new mystery authors. There are more looking for new suspense authors, but they are only looking for a few. Unlike romance, you don’t see many mystery/suspense-only editors these days. It’s a tough market. And how low is too low? Whatever the market supports. A lot of mysteries are published first in paperback; those that are published in hardcover receive higher advances. As to how many copies most first-time authors sell? That number could range from 1,000 to 100,000. The crazy thing about this business is that the extremes are great and so are the variables. A cozy mystery differs greatly from a thriller, etc.

So there’s essentially a list of non-answers for you, but maybe some of my published mystery/suspense readers would be willing to share their experiences, advances, sales numbers. Anonymously, of course.

Considering how challenging it is to achieve paying (any kind of pay) publication *at all,* I am not even remotely concerned with this issue.

I'll be querying everyone, editors and agents, big press, small press, and epubs too, all at once, and taking the best deal I'm offered, if I'm offered at all. I certainly won't turn one down because it won't lead directly to New York.

Wow, this really sheds light on a recent event which unfolded for me recently.

I accepted a publishing agreement from a small Inde publisher because it was an offer to get published.

It was only after the fact (before I signed a contract) in which I did the math and realized I would only be making 1.60$ a book, with no advance. Yes, I consider that very low.

But I could have lived with that, it was the demand of putting the publisher's very large, very tacky unprofessional looking logo across the top cover of my book that broke the deal.

My cover art didn't allow room for it and he refused to budge.

So, I'm back to the drawing board with querying.

I think all aspiring authors should research many things before breaking into print.

Thanks for your insight.

Anonymous said, on 1/8/2010 6:47:00 AM

I have several romantic suspense novels published with small presses. My true love, however, is traditional mystery, and I just finished writing one. I've begun the query process, but this post certainly opened my eyes to the reality of what's likely to happen.

Too bad, because I, for one, much prefer mystery over suspense and wish publishers would offer a wider variety of genre choices.

Great points! I also would point to an article in the recent Romance Writers Report about "author mills" -- small presses who publish very low print runs of each book and spend most of their efforts begging authors to buy extra copies of their own books to distribute for sale, along with making authors do all the work when it comes to marketing the book...and bookstores refusing to carry the book. Before I signed with any publisher with whom I was unfamiliar, I'd first make sure the local bookstores will carry books by those publishers.

Thanks for this post, and to those who have commented thus far--lots of good information.

Personally, my goal isn't only to be published, but to build a writing career. I am slightly nervous at your comment, Jessica, that "there aren’t that many publishers actively looking for new mystery authors" as my heart is into writing cozy mysteries. But, if I follow Ms. Stanely's advice from yesterday, I should also stay true to my voice. I know it's a risk, but I'm going to take my chances (for now) with my cozy mystery and hope for the best.

I just had my debut novel published with a small press, which was no small decision for me. It's been an excellent process, though, and while I'm doing lots of marketing myself, it's no less than I'd expect to do with a larger publisher, especially if I wasn't one of their top tier writers.

My questions for you, Jessica, is this: You mentioned that agents and publishers look for how many books have sold, but what happens if I'm ready to query a new novel with an agent within six months of publishing the first? If my first book hasn't sold 5,000 copies in the first few months, is that a drawback, or do agents accept that a book from a small publisher might take a little more time to gain momentum?

That said (and I have to admit to being incredibly biased, here, as someone who happens to own a small press), I say go with the small press. Why? A few reasons:

* The small press is much more likely to care about you as a person, and to actually like your book themselves. That's not the same as money, but there's something to be said for working with people who can actually give you the time of day.

* The small press is much more likely to engage you and respect your feelings about matters such as cover art.

* Average per-title sales across the entire industry are probably a lot lower than you think. Selling 5000 copies is WAY above average, and a committed small press ought to be able to do that.

* If your book does amazingly well, the smallness of the press isn't going to matter. If the book does well enough to interest a big house, the small press will probably say yes to a buy-out offer for your book; in effect, the small press just agented the book to the large press for you. On the other hand, if the book does super-amazingly well, then the small press isn't going to be so small anymore. Problem solved!

* Speaking of agents, much as they perform a valuable service in the industry, with a small press you're much more likely to get a deal without an agent, and keep that agent's commission for yourself.

* Either way, at the end of the day a lot of authors just want to be able to say that they're published, in a for-real, not on LuLu.com kind of way. Sure, it's a big deal if Tor picks up your new epic fantasy novel or whatever. That's major street cred. But it's a big deal if a small press agrees to put their name, reputation, and often quite limited marketing budget behind your book. All presses are choosy, but small presses are choosy in a way that bigger presses aren't necessarily forced to be. A big press can absorb a few duds, but the small press has to be sure they can at least break even on everything. So for a small press to back your book, that's no small testament to how the people at that press feel about your book's overall quality. It's different from major publisher acceptance, but it's something to be genuinely proud of just the same.

If you have the incredible luxury of choosing between offers from a large press and a small press, obviously you'd be a fool not to choose the large press. But your odds of getting an offer from a small press are higher to begin with (being as there are so many more small presses to choose from), and those presses have their own good points that are worth considering, too.

I don't write mystery, but I did start with an small epublisher in 1998 before anyone knew what ebooks were. Sales were abysmal, but at the same time, I was learning more about my craft. My first NY sale came from a series that was selling online through a small epublisher, and I know of many other authors who've made the leap from epublishing to print: MaryJanice Davidson, Dakota Cassidy, Michele Bardsley, Shiloh Walker, Lora Leigh--but all of those, myself included, write erotic paranormal romance, and all of us happened to hit the market when that genre was hot. In a perfect world, an author writes a book, finds an agent and gets a contract. The world is far from perfect and competition is growing stronger each year.

There's a lot to be said for learning more about publishing through working with a small press, but to really take a career to that next step, I can't imagine doing it without a good agent and a big publishing house as my ultimate goal.

Anonymous said, on 1/8/2010 11:17:00 AM

I just checked the NYT bestseller list and I'd say almost HALF of the top novels are MYSTERIES! So why aren't pubs looking for unique mysteries from debut authors?

The number of mystery readers aren't going down--in fact, they seem to be more loyal to the mystery genre and an author than a fickle teen who likes YA. What will she read in a few years?

I think pubs who don't actively seek mystery/suspense are missing a big chunk of the market. Their loss--and ours!

I see alot of benefit to small press or e-book publishing, but I think people are wise to really thoroughly research what they are getting into.

I also want to say there's a third option, which is to wait for the market.

If mysteries aren't selling now, they may be selling later.

I guess this depends upon your goals, but it does seem like so many people are in such a rush. Why not wait abit and see if the market changes?

Of course, it's hard to know sometimes what the market is, but you can also guess. In economic hard times, people will want things that are fun and/or comforting to read. If you write horror, this may not be the time to try to get published, for example. Of course, I could be completely wrong - maybe horror is jumping off the charts, but that would be my guess.

To Anonymous speaking of the NYT list. Bookshelves lump mysteries, suspense and thrillers together. Ms. Faust was drawing a line between mystery and suspense, which are two sub-sets under the larger mystery umbrella.

In romance, the genre is all lumped together as 'romantic suspense' although it's suppose to cover the gamut from cozy to thriller. However, having given in the 'suspense' moniker, readers assume the books will be suspense. But there are differences.

Anonymous #1 said:I'll be querying everyone, editors and agents, big press, small press, and epubs too, all at once, and taking the best deal I'm offered, if I'm offered at all.

I suggest you rethink that approach. If you are unknown, and you query "everyone" simultaneously, you've already got a strike or two against you.

A query is a request that you be invited to go into business with the agent or publisher. You are offering your book, and asking them to back it with their reputation and financial resources. If you have not already built a reputation to bring to the deal, it is unlikely that the publishing industry will beat the path to your door. Your best chance is to understand where your book fits in the current market (and current market trends), and query the agent or publisher that is the best match for your work. Sending blanket queries to "everyone", without regard for the suitability of your manuscript to their interests (and current needs) will build you a reputation - but not one you'd care to have.

There are several literary agent blogs running; read 6 months of a couple of those, and you've got a better chance to avoid self sabotage.

Jonathan, I agree that reading agent blogs prior to querying is an excellent idea. However, I might be wrong, but I don't think multiple queries will build you a reputation. Agents get so many queries. I doubt they share info about who queries them....?

Interesting answers. I'm hoping if I self-publish in one genre and keep submitting to publishers in another, maybe the self-pubbed bit won't hurt too much. Not that anyone, big or small, has ever said yes. If they did, I'd find it extremely hard to say no.

I've not run into the problem of small press publication causing issues with obtaining a NY publisher. I signed with a big press this spring after three years at an indy Canadian press. The awards I won while at that press helped me sign with my agent and I'd like to think they might have helped with the NY contract.

My time at the small press paired me with an incredible editor who helped me hone my skills. I don't believe I would be writing for St. Martin's now if I hadn't spent the time at Dragon Moon Press.

One disclaimer, however. I switched genres (SF&F/historical mystery to Y.A.) so that does give my new publisher's sales reps more leeway when it comes to those dreaded numbers

writergrrrl said, on 1/9/2010 4:13:00 PM

Thank you, Jana, for weighing in. Your experience is very encouraging. It's good to know that starting with a reputable small press can lead to bigger things.

Just a perspective from an indi-publisher’s point of view: when XYSTUM Publishing begins taking manuscripts the deal will basically be something like this:

A $500 advance.

A 50/50 split of net e-book revenues.

Quality original cover art.

Editing, line-editing, and probably the best e-book formatting in the industry.

Placement on every e-reader platform in existence.

And we will sell it as hard as we can. Because we want to make money off it--I'll bet even more than the writer does.

But we are a small indi-publisher; there won't be any TV trailers or that sort of thing. The author may not get all that a big publisher could give them, but I'll bet we give all that a big publisher will give them. We are a legitimate North American publisher, our ISBN is 9802475. If a writer comes with us as we start up, then they have to realize it’s a start up company—but we came to play. And indi-publishers, just like us, are going to dominate the publishing world in the next few years.

On top of that, we’re completely transparent in our dealings. In fact, I'll tell you right now, our motive is simple: we want a massive slush pile of gothic manuscripts and we want to go panning for gold. We're small, we're start up, but we believe in gothic literary art, we will accept nothing less, and we believe one day we'll discover the next Edgar Allen Poe or Emily Bronte. We’re small, but we’re passionate. Our first title is coming out in March (No doubt it will be late and come out in June, but what can you do?).

I resent that small publishing and self-publishing were mention in the same sentence-breath in the OP. I think that’s unfair, but hey, that’s life. What role will agents have in an indi-publishing environment? Probably none. We won’t deal with agented manuscripts—we can’t afford to. Let the big dogs have the agents. Because the next Mary Shelley or Bram Stoker will come from an indi-press. You watch.

Just a perspective from an indi-publisher’s point of view: when XYSTUM Publishing begins taking manuscripts the deal will basically be something like this:

A $500 advance.

A 50/50 split of net e-book revenues.

Quality original cover art.

Editing, line-editing, and probably the best e-book formatting in the industry.

Placement on every e-reader platform in existence.

And we will sell it as hard as we can. Because we want to make money off it--I'll bet even more than the writer does.

But we are a small indi-publisher; there won't be any TV trailers or that sort of thing. The author may not get all that a big publisher could give them, but I'll bet we give all that a big publisher will give them. We are a legitimate North American publisher, our ISBN is 9802475. If a writer comes with us as we start up, then they have to realize it’s a start up company—but we came to play. And indi-publishers, just like us, are going to dominate the publishing world in the next few years.

On top of that, we’re completely transparent in our dealings. In fact, I'll tell you right now, our motive is simple: we want a massive slush pile of gothic manuscripts and we want to go panning for gold. We're small, we're start up, but we believe in gothic literary art, we will accept nothing less, and we believe one day we'll discover the next Edgar Allan Poe or Emily Bronte. We’re small, but we’re passionate. Our first title is coming out in March (No doubt it will be late and come out in June, but what can you do?).

I resent that “small publishing” and “self-publishing” were mention in the same sentence-breath in the OP. I think that’s unfair, but hey, that’s life.

What role will agents have in an indi-publishing environment? Probably none. We won’t deal with agented manuscripts—we can’t afford to. Let the big dogs have the agents. Because the next Mary Shelley or Bram Stoker will come from an indi-press, you watch.

Gordon - I didn't mind the fact that self-pub and small press are mentioned in the same breath. They're just different points on the publishing continuum and I didn't sense the intent to tar small with self-pub "cooties". The takeaway message is that each writer has to decide how they're going to tackle their career, then live with the consequences.

Actually, I think the potential is greater in YA than in straight mystery if your books appeal to both teens and adults (as in Stephenie Meyer, P.C. Cast, etc). Teen sales numbers are amazing. Often Y.A. advances are higher and foreign rights are purchased a bit quicker. (At least they were in my case).

Since I wrote genre-blended mysteries the switch to urban fantasy wasn't difficult. I had intended to write an adult U.F., but a friend persuaded me to consider writing a Y.A. protagonist given the success of her novels. To my delight the story actually worked. Of course, at the heart of the series is a mystery (grin).

So there was a conscious financial component to my decision, but it was tempered by the demands of the story. If that hadn't worked I wouldn't have moved forward with the project. Extra money is always welcome but not if the book sucks. That's way hard to walk back.

Anonymous said, on 1/11/2010 1:31:00 PM

Sold a "mystery" (although I billed it as a thriller, as does the publisher but it's technically a whodunnit style mystery) to a small press for a $5,000 advance, without an agent, last year, for a MMPB release. Asked me to write another one but wouldn't contract for book #2 until seeing it (or perhaps until seeing how #1 sells?).

Anonymous said, on 1/11/2010 1:34:00 PM

"I'll be querying everyone, editors and agents, big press, small press, and epubs too, all at once, and taking the best deal I'm offered, if I'm offered at all. I certainly won't turn one down because it won't lead directly to New York."

I generally agree with this strategy with the following caveat: the larger players (i.e. agent-NYC house route) take longer to respond than do the smaller players. So I recommend giving the big players a 3-month head start before you approach the smaller ones.

STATUS: Today was about foreign rights and taxes. One fun. The other not. I’m sure you can guess which is which…

What’s playing on the iPod right now? HOW TO SAVE A LIFE by The Fray

Last week we got a query from a writer who had published a fantasy series outside of the US. This person was looking for new representation to shop the series in the United States. There was only one problem. It sounded like the writer’s prior agent had already done so.

Just to make sure, I wrote the author to inquire about that. The return response listed a wonderful submission list with all the editors I would have gone to if I had repped the project.

This author is between a rock and hard place. The submit list was good and if it was rejected by all those places, there’s only smaller publishers to try and to be blunt, potentially not worth the agent’s investment of time.

I responded to the author to say so. What advice would I give in this situation? As hard as it may be, it’s time to write something new. Go out with a fresh project in the US. If that book does well, then the agent can always go back to that initial series and rekindle interest in a possible buy. (Good sales can do that.)

Unfortunately, this author did not have anything new to share but I did respond again to say we’d be happy to look at new future work.

I thought your advice was pretty standard form--in almost any industry, not just publishing. If I were that dude, I'd totally be all over writing something new for the American market--I mean, why not? It would be a challenge and an exciting one at that...I kinda feel bad for his previous agent, though. I mean, ouch. If they needed help selling the book across the pond, then they would have called their agenty-friends here, right? That's what I'd do...

I'd think if the guy was doing well outside the US and had a pretty good rep that an agent would want to jump onboard on at least the potential of the author, even if it meant getting his book published at a smaller house. That is, it's a start. If the guy has promise, there will be rewards sooner or later.

I thought I would have a bit more time to blog tonight so my apologies for not tackling a ton of questions this round.

kimysworld asked:Compared to the first three months of last year, have you received more or less query letters in the first three months of 2010? What are the most common genres? What do you rarely see?Yes, our query inbox has definitely grown from last year. This time in 2009, we were probably seeing 80 to 100 queries a day. Now it’s more like 100-150. I have no explanation for it. Perhaps we are on more people’s radar?

Most common genres? Young adult, romance, women’s fiction.

What I would like to see more of? Well written query letters. Grin. You knew I was going to say that. I’d say that easily 50% of stuff we get is for nonfiction or something else we don’t represent.

I’d love to see more queries for literary fiction with a commercial bent, middle grade, and more sf&f. I’d like to build in these areas (and yes we are still beefing our list in the above stuff as well.)

Anonymous asked:If a writer has gained success in one genre (over twenty novels that have made money, helped build a large fan base, and five contracts for five more books) and he/she wants to switch genres after the contractual obligations have been met because he/she always wanted to write mainstream, is this writer starting from scratch again? But more than that, would this writer be taking a huge chance by walking away from a good thing and trying to pursue another?I’m a little leery about answering this question. There are so many factors that need to be taken into consideration. Also, this is a conversation you really should be having with your current agent. Now having said that, I will try and answer—although my gut tells me that you already know the answers to your questions and perhaps you are simply looking for encouragement or validation as you walk this new path.

Of course the author would be taking a chance by walking away and starting something else. You already know that is the answer. My question is this: does it have to be one or the other? As in do you have to walk away or can you scale back the number of books in that genre in order to give yourself time to work on something mainstream?

Are you no longer passionate about the genre you are established in? If that is the case, then it may not be worth pursuing more books because your heart isn’t in it. What is your financial picture and can you afford to take a risk? Will fans of your current established genre be open to a move in a new direction? Can you live with that fact if the fans aren't willing to follow you?

If you want to be safe, I’d keep a foot in your current genre and then test the waters with a new work that is more mainstream. If your heart isn’t in staying in the old genre than you just have to jump in and try it.

There are many stories where this has been successful for the author and I can probably highlight as many stories of where it hasn’t.

Anonymous asked:How much of your time do you spend reading query letters versus time spent blogging? I'm just wondering because there are several agents who blog every day and I often wonder where they find the time.I actually don’t spend a lot of time reading queries. First off, we’ve hired a wonderful assistant named Anita. Her job is to read all queries that come in as we can get up to 150 a day. She sets aside the ones that Sara and I need to review. Given that, I try and check my query email inbox once a week. It usually takes me 15 mi

About a month ago I got an email from Steve Brodner inviting me to a lecture he was organizing at SVA, where we both teach. He was asking me to participate by sending him images of alternative illustration jobs I’d done. I must confess I was a bit confused, although very flattered, because there was no mention of my actually being a speaker. Soon I found out, indeed I wasn’t a speaker, Steve had emailed me among many other established illustrators to put together a slide show that represented a strong reality of where illustration is going today. Moreover, this lecture, he explained, wasn’t going to be only about the speakers (painter and filmmaker James Blagen; comic artist and designer Mickey Duzyj; and illustrator Alex Juhasz), but also about having an active audience of both strong and new voices in the field.

A couple of days later I get an email from Heidi Younger at FIT inviting me to be a speaker on a panel with Yuko Shimizu, Marcos Chin, Zina Saunders and Fred Harper… the next day after Steve’s panel. Damn! I couldn’t turn down sharing a stage with Yuko and Marcos- I don’t know Zina and Fred- so I accepted. Our lecture is titled How I Got My First Job and focuses pretty much on exactly the same concept as Steve’s.

As excited as I was about going to Steve’s lecture, I’m not sure I can shorten my work hours at this huge restaurant project I just started in Long Island and make both lectures, though I certainly have to make mine, or course. What’s also slightly odd about it, for me at least, is that I have SVA written all over me ( I moved to NY to go to SVA, graduated from SVA, teach at SVA), so I almost feel obligated to be there. Oh well… I’m sure it will be packed anyway.